Eduardo Cespedes

Celestopea Times

Guest Editorial Columnist

Spirituality

Spirituality is a word describing a set of personal ideas or beliefs on spiritual life.  Its’ deeper meaning embodies profound concepts that affect every moment of your life including eternity, soul, character, knowledge, miracles, relationships and a mystical, enlivening energy that can enrapture and transport you beyond the mundane qualities of everyday life.  

The word “spirituality” has become so commonly used that we not only employ it frequently in our daily lives but we are also fond to describe ourselves as spiritual beings.  But, how many of us are actually applying “spiritual” principles or behavior in our day to day experience?

Spirituality implies an ever expanding state of consciousness which is evidenced in many actions large and small including obvious improvements in personal character and relationships with others. One of the ways we strongly deny the spirituality we claim is every time we ignore, discourage or isolate others because of their “strange” ideas differing from ours.  Sports, sex, politics, religion and nationality seem to be some of the main sore spots separating us all from the rest of mankind. While spirituality does not require us to agree with everyone it does behoove us to not be disagreeable in our interactions with others who may hold differing views or beliefs.

As spiritual people, we should be respectful of other people’s ideas and beliefs and open to possibilities for personal growth within them.  You never know, they could represent major assets making us better and richer beings, thus transforming and enhancing our lives considerably.  If we are willing to see greatness and glory within everyday life, we can easily find men and women of any race and social condition who embody a nobility of spirit and carry important gifts of truth and wisdom gleaned from the school of life.  Listening, observing and respecting them can open spiritual trails that may lead to discovery of huge oceans of knowledge, love, light and transformation.

Another common way we lose rather than gain spirituality is when we exhibit bouts of unrighteous anger, especially when directed at others without true justification.  Our spiritual condition goes to the trash can every time we strongly defend a stubborn position and attack others in our haste to prove we are right, instead of simply disagreeing with their incompatible ideas or actions. The typical excuse, “I am like this” or “This is just the way I am”, not only has no logical justification but also no spiritual value since this is just our “prejudiced” conscious mind trying to defend its unsupportable position.  It usually only succeeds in perpetuating our mistakes.

This unspiritual energy surrounds us every time we get mad when confronted with other people’s ideas or opinions. By reacting in anger or fury we will face no opposition at all, since most people will not ever dare to question our ideas or behavior out of plain fear.  Others will simply walk away in pity leaving us blustering to an empty audience.  The hollow feeling left in our heart when the dust settles leaves no doubt that there is no spirituality gained by such actions. 

Understanding these points has been an important evolution in my own life.  I used to plan everything far in advance: conversations, meetings and trips just to mention a few. When the event actually occurred I discovered in pain that the situation seldom followed the script and the results were totally different than I had expected.  For no worthwhile reason, this generated feelings of anger, frustration and insecurity, simply because I had planned things one way and life revealed them in another way. My feelings were frequently hurt because of my stubborn position. This went on until I decided to follow the spiritual trail of harmony and what a difference that has made. I may not be able to change the whole world but I can transform myself by realizing and correcting my mistakes.  As enough people understand and live that concept, the world does change.

My life became richer and richer from the moment I decided not to no longer force situations.  Now everything life brings, or every new situation that I have to experience is welcome. I finally learned the lesson and now there are no setbacks and there is no pain or cursing in my life, for I now go with the flow and am far happier because of that decision.  We learn – little by little – and life becomes brighter and brighter as we allow ourselves to flow toward our life goals, flexible and harmonious, rather than stubbornly trying to force people and situations.

From now on, as we use the word spirituality more often, let us embody its meaning with our eyes and our hearts open, completely aware of its implications and beneficial role in our life. Let each of us be numbered among the enlightened that understand the connection between true spirituality and one’s actions in life.

Spirituality is a measureless ocean inviting us to visit and explore as often and as deep as we desire. Let’s follow the trail and enjoy the experience of life’s wonderful spiritual journey!